2014-02-27 - The Big Talk
Tony is working on the Black Widow's armor. The banged up stuff is being scrapped, while new stuff was made and shaped. He is currently assembling some of it right now, and Nat might punch him, but he made it so extender pieces could be placed along the torso! He thought it was creative! Natasha lets herself into the lab, coming up behind Stark, and running a fingertip along his shoulders. "Tony." "Hey baby, what's up?" It's strange how that door opens for Nat now without Jarvis letting her in. Nat would know it's secured, but it seems to unlock around her presence automatically, at least when Stark is in otherwise it stays locked up. Stark never seems to look up from his work though. He is barefoot, wearing beat up jeans and a white wife beater. His 'work clothes'. He has a slight frown on his face as he checks some designs before going back to putting the armor together manually. "Can we talk?" Natasha sounds serious, with a slight bit of forced lightness-- so whatever it is, it's important, but she's not entirely happy to be talking about it. She presses a light kiss to the back of his neck while he works. It's the tone and not the kiss that catches Tony's attention, his hands freeze in mid-motion. "You have bad news, don't you?" His own tone holds a frown, and he really is frowning actually. But he then finishes securing the one piece he is working on that takes about 45 seconds, and then spins around on his stool to look at Nat. "Well, grab a chair." Tony has changed over the years. Usually when he is in 'work mode', he CANNOT be interrupted with a fit. He has gotten better with that, but it also may be a side-effect of the Extremis Serum, his mind is always working on SOMETHING, he can just multi-task better when sober. Natasha is dressed--in business clothing? A business suit, actually, with a skirt. It's a bit tight on her, to be honest, not too much so, but enough that it's not as comfortable to wear as it otherwise might be. She gives him a tight smile, opting to lean against a table rather than sit. "Depends on how you define bad news." She gazes at him, as if she's trying to read him. "I spoke with Jen about getting the divorce finalized. Given the details, she said it should be fairly simple." That's obviously not all she wants to discuss, but it's at least a start. And good news, most likely. Tony arches an eyebrow at this, "O.K." He doesn't press, he just waits. He can be a demanding ass sometimes, this is apparently not one of those times. That may or may not make things easier. Natasha licks her lips, thinking of how to word the next bit. "It should be easy because I did not know my husband was still alive until a few days ago," she says finally. "I was married, back in Russia. When I was very young. His name was Alexi." She shrugs. She figures Stark probably dug up the marriage license already. Maybe. "I was told he died in a flight accident. He was... test pilot. Fighter pilot." She nibbles her bottom lip. "Apparently, he is... ah..." She pauses. "Red Guardian." Actually, Tony hasn't it. He has been really trying to trust Nat more even when it bites him in the ass. Sometimes, he just calls himself stupid. Tony stares at Nat a bit blankly before a flash of annoyance. "Great." He turns about and starts picking up the armor pieces so he has something to do with his hands. He really has no idea what to say right now, so he starts to work. "Jen says, divorce is easy. Abandonment. I don't have to go and kill him, or get him to sign papers." Natasha sighs. "You're upset with me." Tony nods jerkily at that. "Plans change, but telling me in segments isn't a great 'win trust' move. It makes me think you weren't going to tell me to begin with considering you were planning to approach him with Hawkeye," the tone a bit bitter. "What do you want from me Nat? Two operations against the same man potentially, and you weren't going to say anything. I don't know what more I can do anymore." Tony isn't just frustrated at Nat, he's also frustrated at himself. He really doesn't know what to say or do anymore...the man is at his wits end… "I'm sorry," Natasha says quietly. "I am used to solving my own problems, Tony. This is my problem. If it makes you feel at all better, Clint reminded me that now, this isn't just my problem-- it is our problem, and I /should/ tell you about it." Her hand goes to her stomach, and she looks away, scowling. "And you were right." She looks back at him. "I am not fit for field duty, Tony. I cannot go, if I did, I would be putting us both at risk. And I cannot do this thing. Clint has responsibilities now, too. Things have changed. It is hard..." she pauses. "It is hard for me to remember this, sometimes." Yes. She just told Stark he was right about something. Tony sighs and drops the stuff he was in the middle of linking. He raises his hands and rubs his face. "Doesn't matter," he says. "It will happen again, and again, and again, in an endless cycle unless there is /want/ for change. I'm making myself change, I have to, to make things work. But I'm not sure you are /willing/ to change. There is a huge difference from a one-time realization, to changing one's tune." "I'm here, aren't I?" Natasha asks bluntly. "I am here. To tell you this, though Hawkeye and I could have been in Russia before you and James even planned on going. I went to Jen for it to be handled legally, not with me putting a bullet through my husband's head. I came here, to you, to tell you that as soon as Jen says I am no longer married, I am willing, Stark. To move in with you. To stay off field duty." She swallows, her hands clenching at her side. "Even to cease working with SHIELD, if that is what you ask. I am /trying/, but I cannot change overnight." She's offering as much as she can. Tony looks up at Nat, not really sure what he believes. Honestly though? He /wants/ to believe, in Natasha, and perhaps a little bit in them making it through the next nine months. He is really quiet for a bit as he studies Nat's face before he says quietly, "I'm sorry. And I don't want you to stop working with S.H.I.E.L.D. You love it. Just to take leave from field duty during the pregnancy, that's all. I'm concerned for the child, but I don't want you unhappy Nat. The restrictions, they are just temporary, a detour in life, not new 'rules to live by'." Natasha pushes away from the table, moving over towards him, leaning down and kissing him gently. "I want to try and make this work," she says quietly. "Even though it's not what either of us had planned. I am not very good at any of this, but I don't want you unhappy either." She runs her fingertips along his cheek. "I will stay with you. If you want me to. And stop working on my armor-- I won't need it for another several months." She attempts a smile. "I will be doing paperwork." Which she loathes. Tony accepts the touches, the assurances, his eyes closing at them. But then his arms reach out and he tugs Natasha into his lap just...holding her to him. And then he finally says it to Nat, "I'm scared shitless," he says quietly. "I don't feel much like a hero right now. I'm trying so hard though, to keep upbeat, to keep strong, to keep moving forward. I don't want to fail, not at this...not at being a dad or a partner," his voice tensing. Natasha snuggles against him, closing her eyes. She's quiet for a few moments after his admission, then she murmurs, "Stark? I'm terrified. I do not know how to be a mother. I do not like children-- they are small and untrained and strange. And I will have one? I knew going into the program that I would never have that, so I did not think of it. Now I have a time bomb inside me... one that has more targets painted on it than Clint's stupid gym. I have to keep it safe, and I have to somehow train it when I am not a trainer. I am a killer." Her face buries into his neck. "I don't know what to do. Every other problem is easy to handle. You find a target. You eliminate it. This is how I have been taught to handle things. I cannot do that here. Nothing I know helps me at all. And I have to be strong for you, too-- but at least I almost know how to handle you, Tony." She attempts a teasing smile, but it doesn't quite work. A snort, "Least someone knows how to handle me," Tony says quietly. He hugs Nat a little more firmly. "I'm /great/ with kids, and I can be overprotective as hell too, so we will balance out with you reminding me to breathe. I'm worried about /you/." Tony pulls back to look at Nat more closely brushing her cheek with his thumb. "I know you gotta be overwhelmed, cause I am. But you don't have to answer all these questions alone, and I'm fine with staying home a lot. Hell, I'm in my lab most the time anyway and I'm sure I can childproof just about anything," smiling a bit lopsidedly. "I may not know how to handle a normal family, but...children is something I always wanted someday, so I'm alright in taking a lead in that. But that doesn't mean you don't have tons of things to contribute. And I think once you give over your fear of breaking them or scaring them for life? I think you are going to be one of those wickedly cool hot moms," Tony states. "Seriously." Stark then kisses Nat lightly. "I'm not saying things be easy or you ever be one of those mushy moms that baby talks their kids, but that doesn't mean you won't be amazing by being your kick ass self. We are going to be one awesome dysfunctional pair of parents. And likely traumatize everyone else while we are at it, and give them heart attacks." Natasha chuckles, leaning her forehead against Tony's. "As you wish," she says lightly, giving him a pointed look. Wow...if Nat had punched Stark in the gut, his expression wouldn't be THAT much shocked at that. "You know...that's just mean..." And Stark then shakes his head, looking a bit dazed, "Really, really mean." And dirty. "Mm?" Natasha responds quietly.